Erice, Italy

O Erice

Ancient eyrie of Aphrodite, alight upon
Mist-shrouded ages, sanctified to Venus
From epochs unknown, fertility rites
Famed temples lost in myth, lost in legend
Aeneas came ashore beneath Eryx, to make
His funerary oblations for his father
Anchises, Hercules arrived for a reprieve
After performing one of his Twelve Labors
Stealing the cattle of Geryon, the bardic
Store of knowledge here is inexhaustible—
Cobbled lanes, steep paths, Elymian walls
Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs
Normans, each conquered, plundered
Worshipped, known as Gebel, Monte
St. Giuliano, naturally fortified by
Towering cliffs, situated at the crossroads
Of the Mediterranean, on the western end
Of Sicily, in this ancient precinct, scientific
Schools abound, Ettore Majorana Institute
For International Research, from medicine
To law, from history to astronomy, from
Philology to chemistry, International
School of Nuclear Physics, fast expanding
Fields of nuclear particles, astrophysics
International School of Atomic and
Molecular Spectroscopy, International
School of Space Chemistry, I journeyed
On these fabled paths while on a my own
Summer odyssey to the islands of Italy
Never having heard of this magical place
We simply went to Trapani to catch the
Ferry to Tunis, it is discoveries like this
Treasures unknown which we uncover
That makes travel so enjoyable, so
Enriching, so worthwhile